The housing services provided by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk have been rated fair after an inspection made by the Audit Commission.

The service, which is responsible for providing affordable housing and dealing with homelessness in the borough, was deemed ‘fair’, receiving a one out of three star rating.

The commission’s report found that affordable new homes had been delivered in many rural areas and housing applicants had been offered an effective choice-based lettings scheme.

Homelessness prevention was singled out as an area that needed improvement.

Deborah Good, lead housing inspector at the Audit Commission, said: "The council is working to reduce homelessness and improve standards in the private housing sector but recognises that there is more to do in these areas.

"It has started to tackle these and other issues, but this has not yet resulted in improvements across the board for customers," she added.

Staff were also thought to be offering a good level of customer service – including extensive information and well-publicised translation and interpreting facilities